Simpson Up!
by Dreamer012
Summary: lisa S meets Tyler G: what starts off as a match-making nightmare turns into...love?
1. The Joy of Teenage Years

Lisa Simpson had been smothered ever since she was born. When she was two her father had bought her a saxophone and that had been the only nourishment she'd ever had. Except for the time he replaced it when her late brother, Bart, had thrown it into the road.

She missed Bart more than she could bear. But he was gone, ironically stabbed in the back by her ex-boyfriend and his best friend, Milhouse.

Milhouse was behind bars now and good riddance. God, and he had been her first kiss.

Lisa shook her head hard, returning to her work.

Lisa had got herself into a good school after Bart died. A part of her knew she should have stayed close to home to comfort her parents, but at least they had each other. With Bart gone and Lisa as insignificant as ever, they had started spending a lot more time together, with a crowd of other adults from grief counselling. Lisa suspected something creepy was going on like voodoo.

Lisa had a small circle of friends at Shelbyville High; the smart kids who had broken out of Springfield like her. They included Jayni, Lewis, Martin and Alison. She had long gotten over her rivalry with the latter.

The five of them had all grown up to be smart, mature and, yes, very good-looking – although being teenagers, they didn't think it of themselves.

But they'd be adults soon. The end-of-year exams were coming back, determining where – or indeed if – they could go to University.

So Lisa needed to keep studying.

'The library's shutting,' Miss Reston droned, laying a hand on Lisa's shoulder. 'Simpson, check that book out and go home please.'

'Lisa, wanna come for pizza?' Jayni asked as Lisa emerged, bleary-eyed from her domain.

Lisa checked her watch. She had no intention of going home before bedtime but she had to time it just right, otherwise she might have to talk to her mother. They hadn't exchanged so much as eye contact since Bart's funeral where Marge had said that now her special little guy was dead, she had nothing except Homer.

She had about an hour before she should hit the road. 'Nah, I'm gonna hit the books.'

'Where? I thought the library kicked you out.'

_Good practise I guess. _'There's a bookshop down the road.'

'Ah come on Lisa give yourself a break. You haven't eaten anything for days; you're so set on your bloody studying.'

'Jayni, you don't understand, you're naturally clever. Some of us need to work on it.'

'Don't be stupid; you're the smartest of the lot of us.'

'Oy, Jayni!' Lewis yelled. 'Come on, I'm done mixing!'

Lewis was a DJ in his spare time and after school you could always find him in the school's small studio, set aside for serious musicians.

Jayni rolled her eyes. 'Twat. Come on Lis, please?'

'Have fun.'

Jayni half-glared half-sighed at her before turning away.

Lisa nodded at the receptionist on her way out. She knew her by name; she was always the last to leave. 'Bye Lisa.'

'Bye Mrs B,' Lisa called with forced cheeriness.

Lisa didn't go to the bookshop. The last time she'd been there they'd told her very sternly that she had to buy something or get out.

What did they care if she had no money?

So Lisa sat on a bench across from her school, opened her books and started to read.

It began to rain.

Lisa stayed for fifteen minutes more before packing up, slinging her oversized rucksack across her thin back and trudging away.

She walked the two miles home everyday; no money spare for public transport.

Once home she fixed herself a sandwich, mopped up her mother's alcohol spills and sloped up to her bedroom, which hadn't changed a bit since her tenth birthday.

She looked longingly at the poster of Corey above her bed, although she'd stopped believing a long time ago that he would come to rescue her.

No-one would.

She'd have to rescue herself.

She got out her textbooks and buried her nose in them once more.


	2. Black Eyes, White Skin

Lisa did love her brother. But did Marge and Homer have to keep his ashes on the kitchen table?

There was a note against the fridge. _Sorry honey Homie ate your dinner. And your breakfast. Tonight I will try to distract him. There's plenty of ingredients for batter, help yourself. Lots of love Mom._

Lisa tore the note in half and put it in the bin. She took some money from Marge's purse (well the idiot had left it on the kitchen table: why was she so naïve?) and got her ass outta there.

Maggie was out in the garden playing with her friend Skinny and Lisa waved half-heartedly at them. They were so young, so innocent, so…stupid.

That figured, she stormed away. Jayni was picking her up by the Kwik-E-Mart.

'Oooh hello Miss Simpson!' Apu called spotting her. 'Would you like a complimentary tofu dog?'

She and Apu had become friends when she was eight through their mutual vegetarianism and ever since they'd both hung out with Paul McCartney he had always been ready and willing to give her free non-meat products. No-one else bought them anyway.

But Lisa no longer accepted charity.

'Thanks Apu but I already had breakfast.'

'Do not worry little one I shall offer it to Ganesh instead.'

Jayni pulled up, Alison and Martin in the back. 'Hey, Lisa!'

'Coming!' Lisa vaulted herself over the door and landed in the seat by Alison. 'Hi Ally.'

'Hi Lisa. Wanna play anagrams?'

'No thanks.'

'OK.'

That was when Lisa saw the boy.

He looked albino, with skin the colour of milk and his hair hidden by a cap – but when his eyes locked on hers they were the colour of her soul. Black.

'Who's that?' she whispered to Jayni.

'You don't know who that is? Lisa, that's Tyler G! He's a bad boy!'

'Lisa's got a crush on him,' sing-songed Alison teasingly.

'I must protest,' cut in Martin quickly. 'Lisa is too far removed from his social class to be infatuated with him.'

Lisa thumped him one. 'Martin you're such a snob.'

'That boy's trouble,' he replied wisely. 'He lives on the bloody Yew Estate.'

Jayni glared at the road. 'I live there you Goddamn bastard.'

Martin smoothed back his slick hair in the rear-view mirror. 'I know.'

'Lisa, would you?'

Lisa hit him again.

At school Lisa saw him again. Sweeping the floor.

He turned those dark eyes on her again – and glared so hard she was nearly thrown backwards. 'What do you want white girl?'

Not the time to point out that his skin was completely washed out, while hers glowed with the fake tan Jayni had given her for her birthday. Growing up on the Yew Estate why would he think of himself as anything other than black?

She could glare too. She shot him one and marched on. He was probably doing bloody community service. Martin was right; he was completely removed from her.

'Oy, white girl.'

Damnit why the Hell did she turn?

'That rucksack makes you look like a fucking turtle. Want some help?'

Lisa blinked. Was he saying he cared what she looked like? Why?

'Oy, white girl.'

'It's Lisa. I'm good thanks.'

He shrugged. 'Whatever. He bent down and grabbed an object off the floor. 'You dropped your keys.'

'No I –' Her hand automatically went to her pocket and she gasped. They weren't there. 'Oh.'

He chucked them at her and, remembering her days as a hockey goalkeep, she caught it. 'Thanks Tyler.'

Her knowledge of his name threw him, she could tell, but he didn't let on. 'Enjoy your class.'

'Thanks.'

Then she walked away. No reason why she should ever see him again.

But he did have the most amazing eyes. She could drown in them. She could drink from them. She could…

She'd walked right past her classroom.

How odd.

She was two minutes late but she didn't care. Tyler was not leaving her mind anytime soon.


	3. Conflict

Lisa next saw Tyler in the library after school. He was lounging about re-shelving the books in alphabetical order.

She did her best to pay him no heed, concentrating on her Sciences, but after about ten minutes…

'Are you still here?'

She jumped. He sounded almost aggressive. She thought she'd escaped that when she'd disowned her parents and the shock of it caused her fists to clench, snapping her pencil in half.

She rounded on him. 'It's none of your business.'

He shrugged. 'Just asking.'

'Why are you still here?'

'200 hours,' he stated – as if she knew what that meant.

Oh. 'What did you do?'

To her surprise, he flushed slightly, although his tone didn't waver. 'I broke into your school and trashed a couple of rooms.'

She stood immediately, her eyes icing over. 'What the fuck? Who do you think you are?'

'Will you give it a rest; I already heard it from the Head.'

'You arrogant prick! You idiots on the Yew Estate think you own it, don't you? You don't understand what it's like to work for something! You live on your stupid _dares.'_

He squared up to her, his sudden heat making Lisa involuntarily gasp. 'Listen to me rich girl. Don't talk about things you don't understand.'

_Rich girl? _Christ, that was even worse than white girl. Her Dad earned $40 a day and spent three quarters of it on beer. After his grotesque intake of food there was almost nothing left. Lisa was in this school and scholarship and had a Saturday job to fund her stationary.

Tyler had gone too far.

She matched his scowl, their equal indignation warring for their rights.

'Why would they stick you in the library?' she hissed at last. 'I bet you can't even read.'

Before he could answer she had turned on her heel and ran out of the library.

Shit. She'd forgotten her books.

Head held high, she marched back and retrieved them.

She felt rather than saw his smirk before she slammed the door shut.

'Lisa!' snapped a passing teacher.

'Go to Hell,' she muttered, then hurried over to the studio.

As she had expected, it was occupied by Lewis and Rocky (one of the real rich kids at the school – Jayni had a major crush on him), fairly good friends as far as Lewis could mix for him.

'Hi Lisa!' smiled Lewis, shrugging his headphones off.

Rocky behaved as if she hadn't entered. 'Hello, Lewis! You just cut me off!'

'Sorry,' Lewis said amiably, but he laid his equipment down and walked towards Lisa instead. 'What's up?'

'Tyler,' Lisa spat. 'You know why he's here?'

'Community service?'

'He trashed our school?'

'Typical,' Rocky dismissed. 'You can't save kids from the Yew Estate.'

When Martin had said it before he'd just been winding Jayni up. But there was real hate in Rocky's voice – and Lewis was also from the Yew Estate.

He pretended not to hear. 'Look Lis don't take it hard. Some people are just like that. It gives them an adrenaline rush or something.'

'Why can't they just go shag a whore?' Rocky asked the general public and Lisa considered having a go for his political incorrectness. But then he'd just give her a hard time for directing her anger for Tyler at him instead.

Maybe she was.

Jayni came knocking and Lewis let her in.

She barged past him to beam at Rocky. 'Hey Rockster. How's your track playing?'

'It _was _going to be a masterpiece til Miss Tyler-Lover over there distracted Lewis.'

'Tyler-Lover?' Jayni's eyes gleamed. 'Ha! I knew it!'

'Forget it,' Lisa countered immediately. 'He's a juvenile delinquent.'

Jayni and Rocky exchanged a look, and the latter made a whipping noise with his mouth.

Lewis smiled emphatically at Lisa and offered her his arm. 'Come on. I'll buy you a soda. You look a bit worked up.'

Lisa gave him a grateful look. 'Thanks Lou. I owe you one.'

She was lucky, Lisa realized as she sipped her drink. Tyler obviously had no-one. But she had some pretty damn great friends.


	4. An Unwelcome Olive Branch

Lisa had told her friends she'd catch them up: she just needed to talk to her English teacher about an extra credit project she'd been thinking of. She insisted they didn't wait for her and they wished her luck before leaving.

As Lisa trudged out of school she noticed Tyler talking to a lanky black boy and – was that _Skinny?_

Quickly, she ducked behind a tree.

Tyler was mouthing off.

'God man you wouldn't believe the shit they hurl at me in that place. There's this one chick who thinks she's Michelle Obama or something; she never gets her ass out of the library!' He mimed Lisa poring over her books, fingers extended over his head like her spiky hair.

Lisa felt like she was going to explode.

The tall boy looked bored. 'Yo dude we heard all this already. We got stuff to do man!'

'Yeah, yeah.' Tyler dug out his mobile phone – just as it started. 'Ah check it, I love this track!'

Unbelievably, he started to dance.

Everything else fell away. His moves smacked of street and dodgy clubs and his ring tone was some of the hard rap that…Bart used to play.

Lisa's vision blurred as she started to cry.

Tyler heard her sob and turned. Yet again, their eyes met.

Lisa shut her eyes against his beautiful face and scurried away.

But she tripped and fell flat on her face, her rucksack bursting open and her papers scattering like pigeons from a firecracker. God, how humiliating. She felt her face burning against the damp pavement…then Tyler's hand on her arm. 'Lisa?'

She slapped his fingers away. 'Don't you touch me, bastard.'

He darkened. 'Oh fuck you, snob.'

She scrambled to her feet, still flaming. 'I hate you, you…you…ah!' She let out a cry of frustration, flung a sharpener at his head (he ducked, damn him), and ran.

By the time she got to the café she had missed her friends (the waitress told her they apologized) and her rage at Tyler built like a volcano.

At home she logged on to the computer.

Lisa was registered on Facebook, although she rarely used it; only occasionally to catch up with her cousins, Unky Herb's children, although she'd never met them face to face. Today though, she couldn't resist leaving a post on Jayni's Wall: 'Thanks for ditching me bitch! Xxxx'.

Then she realized someone had inboxed her. Someone called Outcast9/11.

Against her better judgement but thinking it couldn't make her day any worse, she clicked on it.

**Dear Lisa**

**I know I haven't been the best guy to you so far but I think there's more to you than I saw at first. Yeah I get you hate me and all but hey, at least this proves I can write!**

Lisa couldn't believe herself, but she actually laughed. She didn't know why she was reading this but for some reason it was making her feel better…

**I hang around people a lot and I know when someone's got something to give. I think you haven't found it yet. Can I help you?**

**Er…see you at school I guess**

**Tyler**

Lisa stared at the message for a long time, re-reading it over and over like that would make it make more sense. What did he mean she hadn't found it yet? What she had was intelligence and she'd damn near used that up, so often had she put it to good use. What was he talking about?

Who did he think he was kidding? They were too different. They would always be too different.

After a while she sent a reply.

**Tyler**

**I don't know who you think I am but it sure isn't me. I think it would be better if we kept our distance. I'd appreciate it if you finished your community service or whatever it is without talking to me.**

She pondered how to end it, but eventually settled on

**Thanks for the thought**

**Lisa**

She sent it and then logged off.

For the first time in years, she fell asleep before twelve. It was almost as if she felt… safe.


	5. It's A Date

Lisa was not tired when she woke up the next morning and, for the first time, she was smiling, optimistic about her prospects.

Good feelings do help. A pile of pancakes was waiting for her in the fridge with a note from Marge: _Enjoy, sweetie. They were made with love xxx_

Cliché but Lisa was hungry so she ate them and even added a line to the letter: _Thanks Mom x_

She skipped out of the house – straight into Skinny. 'Oh. Hi.'

He glanced at Maggie, who was looking confusedly between them, unaware that they'd seen each other the night before.

Lisa offered a hand. 'Tell Tyler thanks for the inbox.'

He whipped out his Blackberry. 'Can do. See you Simpson.'

Maggie folded her arms pointedly as Lisa walked past; the two weren't really on good terms. Maggie blamed Lisa since it was her boyfriend who had murdered their brother and Lisa did not like being blamed.

But somehow, spontaneously, Lisa reached out and wrapped Maggie in her arms, feeling the soft skin that had not hardened since her infancy, despite the layer of rock just beneath. 'Love you Mags.'

And Maggie returned the embrace, murmuring back, 'Love you Lisa.'

BEEP!

'Yo, Lisa, get your ass in the car!'

Oh no. That couldn't be…

Rocky. His car, a red Ferrari for God's sake, Jayni in the passenger seat with his arm tight around her neck like he was planning to give it a good squeeze.

But Lisa knew better than to argue. Jayni would be too proud of herself for hooking Rocky to listen to what a prick he actually was.

So Lisa got in the car and gave Lewis a sympathetic look, noticing his longing stare in Jayni's direction. Lisa felt a pang when she remembered that when Lewis had got her a soda he had talked about asking Jayni out. Then she felt anger at Jayni for not seeing what was right under her upturned nose. Damn but her best friend was thick.

Damn. Tyler was at the gate, sweeping up the ciggies that had been abandoned by the druggies yesterday and breathing in the leftover fug of marijuana like it was home-baked bread.

'Hey Lis,' he said amiably as she swanned past him. 'Thanks for hitting me on FB.'

That was enough to make Lisa's head jerk with indignation – and see his wink. 'Ha. Got you looking at me didn' t I?'

Why was he so gorgeous? Why were his eyes so endless, so tender, so dark?

And why, while we're asking questions, was she being such an idiot?

Tyler made as if to touch her arm, but changed his mind halfway there, heading upwards to tweak his baseball cap instead. 'Um…you dropped your keys.'

'No I –' Oh. 'How do you do that?'

He smirked at her, his left hand clutching her keys like a talisman or a remote. 'Alright, now you owe me.'

'Oh give over,' she snapped, making a grab for them while he held them two inches above her head. 'Tyler, come on!'

'The way I see it,' he began calmly, twirling the keys around his index finger. 'You won't need them today. Meet me in the Hall after school. You'll get them back.'

Jayni and Alison had been watching this exchange with their mouths open (the boys had gone ahead, bored with all this drama) and now they burst out laughing.

'Better do what he says, Lisa!' Alison spluttered. 'He is a bad boy!'

Tyler spared her a cursory look of contempt before returning his attention to Lisa. 'What do you say?'

'I have an appointment with Mr. Hank,' Lisa muttered.

'After that then.'

She gave him a glare so strong she was surprised he didn' topple and then took Jayni and Alison's hands and yanked them through the gate, going for the Maths classroom.


End file.
